2/24/2023
Archbishop Evlampy (Pyatnitsky)
Truly, fasting in its perfection is a great labor; it embraces the virtue of abstinence in its fullest sense.
Who doesn’t need to think about themselves? Who doesn’t need to delve into his own heart? Who doesn’t need to look at the inner state of his life and works?
Let us traverse the path of the Fast as the path of the grace-filled purification of our souls and bodies.
The Lord Jesus spent the entire time of His forty-day fast in the wilderness, in deep stillness and solitude.
The holy Church has been preparing us for this time for a while, as a great and special endeavor for all Christians.
This pledge of love is expected and required, and even lovingly entreated of us by Christ—the Divine lover of our souls!
Great is the path ahead, both in length of time, and especially in importance of spiritual labors commanded of us by the Church.
